Celebrating good choices through film

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) Character education, healthy lifestyles, and celebrating diversity are three of the positive choices that a group of students are promoting with their winning PSAs as part of the Meijer Film Festival.

High school students from throughout the state submitted 30 second Public Service Announcement videos promoting positive choices. The Meijer Film Festival received 330 videos in all. Out of those, 60 finalists were chosen. The top three students in each category receive cash prizes and the top 60 winning videos are sent on DVDs to all Michigan schools to use in their character education programs.

Kayla Vander Laan of Hudsonville High School won $2,000 with first place. Anna Vander Laan, also from Hudsonville High School, won $500 with third place. Mathew Morello of Forest Hills Northern High School came in second place and won $1,000. Dylan Malburg of Forest Hills Northern High School won first place in two categories and second place in two other categories, winning $6,000 total. Elizabeth Coe and Jade Conkle, both of Thornapple Kellogg High School, were runner-ups.

The purpose of the film festival is to highlight the talent of Michigan’s audio/visual students while allowing the students to make a positive impact on Michigan’s K-12 youth in the areas of Diversity, Character Education, and Healthy Lifestyles. The festival was developed in partnership with Meijer, The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation, Chemical Bank, The Vander Laan Family Foundation, Celebration Cinema North, and the Van Singel Fine Arts Center.